THE SHEPARDSON FAMILY
A RECORD OF THE EARLY GENERATIONS IN AMERICA.
BY FRANCIS WAYLAND SHEPARDSON.

Sometime in the year 1628-9,
from what ship no record remains to tell, Daniel Shepardson landed
at Salem, Mass., being one of a numerous company who sought homes
in America at that period of English history. A tradition indicates
that he was accompanied by his brother, John, who soon died of
lockjaw as a result of a dispute in which a spade was thrown at
him by his adversary. Some of the immigrants moved to Charlestown
where Daniel Shepardson is recorded as a citizen in 1632. He was
not one of the wealthy members of the Puritan body, but was a
craftsman, a blacksmith by trade.

"Since the birth of time,
throughout all ages and nations,
Has the craft of the smith been held in repute by the people."

The place of his origin is
not known, but members of the family are to be found in Yorkshire,
England, now (1907), and, as the name indicates a Scandinavian
ancestry, he may have been from that part of the country.

He was not an educated man,
but he had so much company in that plight among the early Americans,
that it is not specially to his discredit that his will is acknowledged
by a cross, with "the marke of Daniell Sheopardson"
beneath it. Like most of the Puritans he was intensely superstitious,
a believer in signs and omens, and when one day, as he was working
at his forge, a stone fell from it and crumbled into powder, he
recognized the evil portent and gave to his wife the nails which
he was just making, saying, "They will come in handy some
day." The nails were kept, and when he died, in Maiden, Mass.,
26 July 1644, they were used in the making of his coffin. He had
a comfortable home with three acres of ground around it, his blacksmith
shop, and fifty acres of pasture and meadow land, scattered here
and there, so that his widow, Joanna, who had the use of the property
during her lifetime, was quite well fixed for a woman of the day.
His family comprised a son, Daniel, and two daughters, Lydia and
Joanna.

When the children were ready
to marry, Daniel married Elizabeth Call; his sister, Lydia, married
Elizabeth's brother, Thomas Call, Jr.; and after the death of
their father, their mother, Joanna Shepardson, married the father
of the Call children, Thomas Call, Sr., so that the relationship
became a little mixed.

An abstract of the will and
the inventory of the estate of this pioneer Shepardson have been
printed as well as certain orders of the General Court about his
property. [In N. E. Gen. Hist. Soc. Reg.]

The second Daniel followed
the trade of his father, making his home at Maiden, Mass., for
some years. His name appears as one of a number who signed a petition
to Sir William Phipps, 17 October 1694, praying to be permitted
to establish a settlement at Attleboro, Mass. He seems to have
owned land there as early as 1660. He took a prominent part in
the town affairs. With this removal from Malden the Shepardson
family found its home in a tract of land called "Rehoboth
North Purchase", which included what later became the towns
of Cumberland, Rhode Island, and Attleboro, Norton, and Mansfield,
Mass., places in which the family has been represented almost
continuously for more than two hundred years.

The early records of Attleboro,
Rehoboth, and Cumberland seem faulty and there is considerable
confusion in the first few generations, but there is every indication
that all Americans named Shepardson may be traced back to Attleboro,
except a few recent immigrants from England.

The genealogical details so
far as known follow:

1. DANIEL SHEPARDSON, blacksmith
of Charlestown, Mass., coming from Salem. Admitted to the Church
in Charlestown, 8 June 1633. Removed to Malden, where he died
26 July 1644. His wife was Joanna , maiden name and date of marriage
unknown. She survived her husband and married (2) Thomas Call,
Sr. She died 30 January 1661. Children:

2. DANIEL SHEPARDSON, (Daniel-1)
succeeded his father as blacksmith at Malden. He was a freeman
of Middlesex County, Mass., 29 May 1674, and took the oath of
fidelity 15 December 1674. He married, 11 April 1668, Elizabeth,
daughter of Thomas Call, Sr., and widow of Mr. Samuel Tingley
of Malden. He removed to Attleboro where he had fifty acres about
half a mile from "Old Town" on the Bay Road. He lived
to an advanced age and was long called "old goodman Daniel
Shepardson". He came near losing his property at one time
as the Attleboro records indicate. So far as known his children
were:

DANIEL SHEPARDSON, b. 11
July 1669; lieutenant in 9th Mass. Regt. against Canada in 1691
where he died 11 March 1691. He may have married and had son
John, b. 22 July 1685, d. 15 October 1685.

JOHN SHEPARDSON, bapt. January,
1671. 3.

NATHANIEL SHEPARDSON, bapt.
23 October 1680. 4.

ELIZABETH SHEPARDSON; m.
Robert Fuller, 19 January 1699.

MARY SHEPARDSON; m. Joseph
Ingraham, 11 April 1700.

JOANNA SHEPARDSON; m. John
Fuller, 22 December, 1701.

3. JOHN SHEPARDSON (Daniel-2,
Daniel-1) lived in Attleboro until about 1697 when he moved to
Rehoboth. He married 9 April 1694, Elizabeth Fuller who was born
12 May, 1678, and baptized 30 May 1679, daughter of Jonathan and
Elizabeth (Wilmarth) Fuller of Attleboro. Children, recorded in
Attleboro:

RUTH SHEPARDSON, b. 14 July
1695; m. Ephraim Lane, son of John and Sarah Lane. Many descendants
in Norton, Mass. She d. 1752.

MEHITABLE SHEPARDSON, b.
31 January 1696-7.

SARAH SHEPARDSON, b. 13
February 1698-9, d. 28 April 1699.

DANIEL SHEPARDSON, b. 16
March 1699-1700. 5.

AMOS SHEPARDSON, b. 30 September
1704. 6.

JOHN SHEPARDSON, bapt. 17
April 1709. 7.

4. NATHANIEL SHEPARDSON (Daniel-2,
Daniel-1) may have moved from Attleboro, Mass., to Rehoboth, where
two of his children were baptized, although all are recorded in
Attleboro. His wife was Mary -----. From similarity of names and
some other circumstances, he may be the one referred to on page
236 of "Hinman's Connecticut Settlers" as "Nathaniel
Shippason, widow Mary, of Hebron, estate £207. He died 1718.
Children were Jonathan, Nathaniel, John, Elizabeth, Mary, Mercy,
Joanna, "and others". Children recorded in Attleboro:

JONATHAN SHEPARDSON, b.
20 September 1706. 8.

NATHANIEL SHEPARDSON, b.
26 March 1708. 9.

ELIZABETH SHEPARDSON, b
12 May 1710.

MARY SHEPARDSON, b 12 May
1710.

JOHN SHEPARDSON, b. 25 June
1712.10.

5. DANIEL SHEPARDSON (John-3,
Daniel-2, Daniel-1) married in Attleboro, Mass. (1) Hannah Richardson,
9 December 1725. She d. 26 September 1726, leaving a son. He married
(2) Mary Washburn, 9 May 1728. Several of the sons of this family
went to Guilford, Vermont. Children recorded in Attleboro:

DANIEL SHEPARDSON, b. 5
September 1726. 11.

JOHN SHEPARDSON, b. 16 February
1729. 12.

HANNAH SHEPARDSON, b. 29
December 1730.

ZEPHANIAH SHEPARDSON, b.
6 May 1733. 13.

STEPHEN SHEPARDSON, b. 11
August 1735. 14.

6. AMOS SHEPARDSON (John-3,
Daniel-2, Daniel-1) married Margaret Pidge, 30 March 1732. He
died in Attleboro in his 94th year. The boys of this family followed
the sea. Children recorded in Attleboro:

Perhaps also:
WILLIAM SHEPARDSON, wrecked between Liverpool and Boston.

7. JOHN SHEPARDSON (John-3,
Daniel-2, Daniel-1) "has descendants in the Lake Champlain
region" is the only record, January 1, 1907. Where he located
is unknown. There are occasional traces of "northern Vermont
Shepardsons".

8. JONATHAN SHEPARDSON (Nathaniel-3,
Daniel-2, Daniel-1) lived in Attleboro, Mass., in Cumberland,
R.I., and finally settled in Templeton, Mass., where he died in
1790. He married, 9 May 1730, Abigail Fuller, who was born 6 July
1704, daughter of John and Joanna (Shepardson) Fuller. Joseph
Shepardson, who gathered extensive notes about the family, all
of which were destroyed by fire before publication, reports that
Jonathan's wife, "Merriam, died in 1771 very aged",
and says children were Jonathan, born 3 January 1735, Nathaniel
and Joanna. The Attleboro records show no other Jonathan of this
generation who might be confused with this line, and show children:

NATHANIEL SHEPARDSON, b.
18 June 1731; lived in Cumberland, R.I.

JONATHAN Shepardson, b.
21 May 1732, d. early.

JONATHAN SHEPARDSON, b.
19 January 1734; perhaps d. early and name given to son b. 3
January 1735.

9. NATHANIEL SHEPARDSON (Nathaniel-3,
Daniel-2, Daniel-1) probably lived in Cumberland, R.I., near the
boundary line. I find no record of his family except of a son
bearing his name. If he had several children this lack of records
may make confusion in my later notes. January 1, 1907, I am at
sea about this line. There is probability of confusion, too, with
Nathaniel, son of Jonathan No. 8.

NATHANIEL SHEPARDSON. 16.

10. JOHN SHEPARDSON (Nathaniel-3,
Daniel-2, Daniel-1) married Abigail Richardson and moved to Ash
Swamp, later called East Haddam, Conn. The order of birth of the
children is not known and there may have been others than the
ones named.

OTIS SHEPARDSON.

DANIEL SHEPARDSON, d. without
issue.

WILLIAM SHEPARDSON.

JONATHAN SHEPARDSON. 17.

ISAAC SHEPARDSON.

ABIGAIL SHEPARDSON.

MOLLY SHEPARDSON.

HEPSIBAH SHEPARDSON.

ANCEL SHEPARDSON, b. 14
January 1759. 20.

11. DANIEL SHEPARDSON (Daniel-4,
John-3, Daniel-2, Daniel-1) lived in Attleboro for a while at
least, the town records containing this entry, "Daniell Shepardson,
Jr., and Mary Peck, dau. of Hezekiah Peck, late of Attleboro,
were married by me, the subscriber, 12 November 1753.--Habijah
Weld." Children recorded in Attleboro:

NOAH SHEPARDSON, b. 4 August
1756.

OZIAH SHEPARDSON, b. 30
March 1757; d. 5 February 1758.

ENOCH SHEPARDSON, b. 21
April 1759.

HANNAH SHEPARDSON, b. 8
May 1765.

12. JOHN SHEPARDSON (Daniel-4,
John-3, Daniel-2, Daniel-1) removed to Guilford, Vt., of which
town he was one of the founders. He was very influential in the
movement to make Vermont an independent state. He bore the title
"Major". He was made Town Clerk in 1772 at the first
town meeting of Guilford. He was a member of the Council in Vermont
for several years as also Judge of the Supreme Court. He died
of consumption 3 January 1802. His wife, Anna, died of old age
10 (or 11) January 1817, then 87. They had eleven children according
to a court record, but names are unknown. One son died at the
age of eighteen. No further record.

JOHN SHEPARDSON, b. 1753,
d. 23 August 1771.

13. ZEPHANIAH SHEPARDSON (Daniel-4,
John-3, Daniel-2, Daniel-1) lived in Attleboro until about 1770
when he moved to Guilford, Vermont. He attended the first town
meeting there 19 May 1772, and was made a constable, an overseer
of highways and an overseer of the poor. He was called "Lieutenant".
He married (1) Ruth Hills (b. 1 July 1733, d. 16 October 1782);
(2) Demaris, widow of David Church. She d. 28 July 1787, aged
54; (3) Mrs. Lucinda Chase of Halifax, Vt., 1 June 1798. She d.
in the "Chinesee" country, 30 September 1809. He d.
16 October 1804. Children:

ZEPHANIAH SHEPARDSON, b.
21 March 1755.

WILLIAM SHEPARDSON, b. 25
July 1756.

RUTH SHEPARDSON, b. 16 September
1758; m. John Barney.

JOSEPH SHEPARDSON, b. 27
October 1760.

JARED SHEPARDSON, b. 18
July 1763.

DEMARIS BILLINGS SHEPARDSON.

DAVID CHURCH SHEPARDSON.

14. STEPHEN SHEPARDSON (Daniel-4,
John-3, Daniel-2, Daniel-1) married Lucy Fisher of Attleboro,
Mass., and moved to Guilford, Vt., where he was constable in 1774
and commissioner of highways in 1776. He was captain of a company
in the Revolutionary War. AIl I have about his children follows:

15. AMOS SHEPARDSON (Amos'4,
John-3, Daniel-2, Daniel-1) moved from Attleboro, Mass., to Northfield,
Mass., in 1793, and to New York state in 1820. He married Rebecca
Whitcomb and had children:

AMOS SHEPARDSON, b. 1787,
had one son, Charles, of Warwick, Mass.

ELIJAH SHEPARDSON, b. 1789.

ARAUNAH SHEPARDSON, b. 1791.

ZEBEDIAH SHEPARDSON, b.
1793.

OLIVE SHEPARDSON, b. 1795;
m. Elijah Kendall, 15 April 1814.

16. NATHANIEL SHEPARDSON (Nathaniel-4,
Nathaniel-3, Daniel-2, Daniel-1) lived at Arnold's Mills in Cumberland,
R.I. He married (1) Sarah -----, who died after 1771, and (2)
Elizabeth -----. He was known as "'Squire Shepardson".
Children:

NATHANIEL SHEPARDSON, b.
22 March 1758.

MARY SHEPARDSON.

ELIZABETH SHEPARDSON, b.
18 April 1762.

ISAAC SHEPARDSON, b. 25
July 1764.

LUCY SHEPARDSON, b. 4 February
1766.

CHLOE SHEPARDSON, b. 27
April 1768; m. Otis Jillson, 3 April 1796.

OLIVE SHEPARDSON, b. 29
May 1771.

SABRA SHEPARDSON, b. 22
July 1774.

OTIS SHEPARDSON, b. 20 April
1776.

HANNAH SHEPARDSON, b. 21
August 1778.

NANCY SHEPARDSON, b. 21
August 1781.

17. JONATHAN SHEPARDSON (John-4,
Nathaniel-3, Daniel-2, Daniel-1) has descendants in Smyrna, N.Y.
The family moved from Connecticut to New York many years ago.
His only son was:

JONATHAN SHEPARDSON.

18. JONATHAN SHEPARDSON (Jonathan-4,
Nathaniel-3, Daniel-2, Daniel-1) married in Attleboro, Mass.,
Miriam, daughter of Isaac and Sarah (Carpenter) Follett, who was
born 11 February 1733-4. In 1768 the family moved to Templeton,
Mass., having lived a while in Cumberland, R.I. They removed in
1790 to Royalston, Mass. They both died the same day, 3 December
1804. Children:

20. ANCEL SHEPARDSON (John-4,
Nathaniel-3, Daniel-2, Daniel-1) married, 25 July 1782, Charlotte
Colgrove, who was born 20 February 1762, and died 23 February
1850. He died 9 February 1840. They lived in Middletown, Rutland
County, Vt. and in Fairfax, Franklin County. Children:

This completes the record
of the first five generations of American Shepardsons, so far
as I have been able to compile it. There are several places where
it is faulty. In some of the families of the fourth generation
there probably were other children born after removal of the family
from Attleboro. I have a record running back to an Ezra Shepardson
of the fourth generation. I have another running back to Samuel
Shepardson, born in Attleboro, 10 February 1757. I suppose him
to be of the family of John Shepardson (fourth generation) whose
descendants are found in the Lake Champlain country. In printing
the records I have indicated where my information about a line
ends. But the facts now show that it ought not to be difficult
to trace out all American Shepardsons and place them properly
in order. Anyone who has records of births, marriages and deaths
of Shepardsons should send them to me for preservation and possible
publication at some future day.

John Eaton Shepardson, a civil
engineer on the Southern and Western R. R. and Albert R. Shepardson,
of Reading, Mass., are working with me in this study.

THE SHEPARDSON FAMILY
BEGINNING WITH THE SIXTH GENERATION IN AMERICA.
BY FRANCIS WAYLAND SHEPARDSON.

Under date of February 1,
1907, I printed an 8-page leaflet giving such records as I had
available of the first five generations of American Shepardsons,
descendants of Daniel Shepardson of Salem, Mass., 1628-9, later
of Charlestown and Malden. The story is now continued in such
lines as I have been able to trace. My object in printing these
leaflets is to put into permanent form for some future family
historian, records which might otherwise be lost. Corrections
or additions should be sent to me for future use. A few scattered
notes on the fifth generation, not given before, are added. The
reference numbers are to the leaflet of February 1, 1907.

6(ii). ZEBEDIAH SHEPARDSON
(Amos'4, John-3, Daniel-2, Daniel-1), b. 17 November 1737; m.
Deborah Cook, int. pub. in Norton, Mass., 7 August 1762. He is
called "Captain" in record of his death in Rehoboth
12 May 1810. He was probably the one mentioned in the Mass. Revolutionary
rolls who was commissioned as commander of the schooner "Resolution",
a privateer, 20 July 1778. Zebulon Shepardson, 1st Lieut. on same
vessel, may have been his son. No record of children except two
daughters named in his will.

NANCY SHEPARDSON, "eldest
dau."; m. Simeon Cobb.

ELONA SHEPARDSON, b. 2 December
1767, Providence, R.I. She m. (1) Daniel Hodges of Norton, Mass.,
12 March 1787. He was b. 9 June 1763, in Norton, and d. January,
1789 in Hardwick. They had a daughter, Elona Hodges, b. in Rehoboth,
22 April 1789, who m. at Rehoboth 30 July 1810, Lee Leonard of
Taunton, son of Jonathan and Joanna (Lee) Leonard. Several children
(See "Hodges Genealogy"). She m. (2) 7 February 1791,
Caleb Abell, town clerk of Rehoboth.

6(iv). ELIJAH SHEPARDSON (Amos'4,
John-3, Daniet-2, Daniel-1), b. 8 May 1741; m. Mary ----- who
d. in Providence, R.I., in 1794, aged 50. He probably followed
the sea, as he is called "Captain" in record of d. at
Seekonk, 9 November 1787, of "mole on the throat". His
father's will, probated 1 December 1795, mentions "heirs
of Elijah", of whom one was:

MEHITABLE SHEPARDSON, who
m. Richard Bowen, December, 1797.
"It appears also that a Richard Bowen, but of what family
is not clearly known, died and was buried in the burial ground
attached to Rehoboth, and the Bowen arms, a stag trippant with
an arrow stuck in his back, were cut on his tombstone, thus furnishing
a strong proof that he was of the ancient family of the Bowens
of Glamorganshire." (See Bowen Genealogy.)

10. JOHN SHEPARDSON (Nathaniel-3,
Daniel-2, Daniel-1) m. Abigail Richardson and moved to Ash Swamp,
later called East Haddam, Conn. She was b. 18 April 1709, daughter
of William and Rebecca (Vinton) Richardson. The "Richardson
Memorial" says she m. John Shepard 8 August 1728, and d.
30 November 1730, but this is the date my records give for her
marriage to John Shepardson. Her sister, Hannah, m. Daniel Shepardson,
John's brother. Dates are wanting in this line. He m. (2) Hepsibah
Lord, daughter of Sergt. William Lord of East Haddam, signing
an agreement regarding the estate of the latter, 29 October 1736.
The order of birth of the children is not known and there may
have been others besides the ones named. Children:

OTIS SHEPARDSON; no trace.

DANIEL SHEPARDSON, d. without
children. A Revolutionary soldier.

WILLIAM SHEPARDSON, descendants
at East Hamilton, N.Y.

JONATHAN SHEPARDSON, descendants
at Smyrna, N.Y.

HANNAH SHEPARDSON (?) m.
3 November 1788, John Mobs, E. Haddam.

ISAAC SHEPARDSON, no trace.

ABIGAIL SHEPARDSON.

MOLLY SHEPARDSON.

HEPSIBAH SHEPARDSON; m.
John Mitchell 4 January 1758.

ANCEL SHEPARDSON, b. 14
January 1759.

12. JOHN SHEPARDSON (Daniel-4,
John-3, Daniel-2, Daniel-1) m. at Norton, Mass., 17 January 1754,
Anna Blanchard, daughter of Stephen and Abigail (Pratt) Blanchard.
About 1760 he removed to Guilford, Vt., of which town he was one
of the founders. He was made Town Clerk in 1772. He was very influential
in the movement to make Vermont an independent state. He bore
the title "Major". He was a member of the Council in
Vermont for several years and was also Judge of the Supreme Court.
He d. of consumption 3 January 1802, in Brattleboro. His wife
d. of old age 10 January 1817, then 87. According to a court record,
they had eleven children, but names of some are unknown, and no
dates seem available.

JOHN SHEPARDSON, d. 23 August
1771.

SAMUEL SHEPARDSON, b. 10
February 1757, at Attleboro, Mass. 25.

LOUISE SHEPARDSON.

SETH SHEPARDSON. 26.

ALFRED SHEPARDSON. 27.

JOTHANIEL SHEPARDSON.

EZRA SHEPARDSON, d. at Palmyra,
N.Y., 29 August 1819, aged 33.

14. STEPHEN SHEPARDSON (Daniel-4,
John-3, Daniel-2, Daniel-1) m. Lucy Fisher of Attleboro, int.
pub. in Norton 17 February 1759. He moved to Guilford, Vt., where
he was constable in 1774 and commissioner of highways in 1776.
He was captain of a company in the Revolutionary War. He may have
had other children besides:

15. AMOS SHEPARDSON (Amos'4,
John-3, Daniel-2, Daniel-1), m. in Norton, Mass., 14 August 1755,
Abigail Pratt. They lived in Eastham, Mass. Four children are
recorded in Norton and a fifth was b. in Mansfield. There was
trouble in the family and after separation from his wife he married
again and went west, perhaps to New York state. There are some
confusing details about the records. I have data about an Amos
Shepardson who located in Florida, Mass., and has descendants
at Pittsfield, and other data about a man of the same name who
located first at Northfield, Mass., and then went to New York
in 1820. I find a tradition that Amos may have died at Hague,
N.Y. The Florida, Mass., Amos is said to have d. there, but there
is no record of his death. One report says Amos had eleven children
by his two wives. I give the children of Abigail Pratt, and the
other two records also. The correct details may appear later.
The Mass. Revolutionary rolls seem to show that this Amos was
a soldier. Children:

MATILDA SHEPARDSON, b. 1
February 1760.

MARGARET SHEPARDSON, b.
22 March 1762.

ABIGAIL SHEPARDSON, b. 1
March 1765.

ADAH SHEPARDSON, b. 9 December
1767; m. James Perry, Easton, Mass.

NOAH SHEPARDSON, b. 2 May
1770.

15a. This was the complete
family of Amos and Abigail Pratt. An Amos Shepardson who enlisted
in the Revolutionary army from Mansfield, Mass., and later from
Mendon, Mass., m. at Medway (or Milford) Mass., about 1 October
1778, Hannah Norcross, daughter of Peter and Johanna (Morse) Norcross.
He lived afterward at Florida, Mass. Children:

LOUIS SHEPARDSON, b. about
1781, d. 17 October 1858.

LOVETT SHEPARDSON, b. 24
March 1792, in Milford, Mass.

NABBY SHEPARDSON.

JOHANNA SHEPARDSON.

15b. Another Amos Shepardson
moved from Attleboro, Mass., to Northfield, Mass., about 1793,
and about 1820 moved to New York state. He married Rebecca Whitcomb,
who was b. 4 April 1760, daughter of Thomas and Anna (Whitney)
Whitcomb, and had children:

AMOS SHEPARDSON, b. 1787,
had one son, Charles, of Warwick, Mass.

ELIJAH SHEPARDSON, b. 1789.

ARAUNAH SHEPARDSON, b. 1791.

ZEBEDIAH SHEPARDSON, b.
1793.

OLIVE SHEPARDSON, b. 1795;
m. Elijah Kendall, 15 April 1814.

25. SAMUEL SHEPARDSON (John-5,
Daniel-4, John-3, Daniel-2, Daniel-1) m. Anna Barney, daughter
of John Barney. He lived in Guilford, Vt., dying on the farm his
father occupied before him, 28 February 1813, after an illness
of eight days from spotted fever. He was a freeman and town clerk
of Guilford, 25 March 1782-3; moderator of town meeting, 1794;
constable in 1790, 1797, 1801; was called "Captain"
in 1795; was collector in 1784, 1790, 1795; district clerk, district
No. 14, 1810; member of Vermont Council, 1803-1808; register of
probate in 1806, and presidential elector in 1808. He was called
"Major" at the time of his death. I have the same date
for his wife's death as for that of his mother. Probable confusion.
Children:

26. SETH SHEPARDSON (John-5,
Daniel-4, John-3, Daniel-2, Daniel-1) was a Revolutionary soldier
from Guilford, Vermont. He m. Phoebe [or Rhoda?] Carpenter in
Vermont. They moved to Erie County, Pennsylvania, where he d.
in 1855, aged about 90 years. He was a farmer and magistrate.
Children were all born in Vermont except Anna:

ROWENA G. SHEPARDSON; m.
----- Allen.

JOEL SHEPARDSON.

SETH SHEPARDSON.

DANIEL SHEPARDSON.

RHODA SHEPARDSON; m. John
White.

NEWELL SHEPARDSON.

JOHN SHEPARDSON.

ANNA SHEPARDSON; m. Norris
White.

27. ALFRED SHEPARDSON (John-5,
Daniel-4, John-3, Daniel-2, Daniel-1) m. 27 June 1796, Dolly Bullock
in Guilford, Vt., and lived there until February, 1816, when he
moved his family to what is now Afton, N.Y. He d. there in 1819.
Children:

SALLY SHEPARDSON, b. 4 October
1798.

CLARISSA SHEPARDSON, b.
13 July 1800.

ZATOC (?) SHEPARDSON, b.
3 April 1805.

DOLLY SHEPARDSON, b. 16
April 1807.

ALFRED SHEPARDSON, b. 24
November 1809.

SIMEON SHEPARDSON.

28. ZEPHANIAH SHEPARDSON (Zephaniah-5,
Daniel-4, John-3, Daniel-2, Daniel-1) was a clockmaker and farmer
in Guilford, Vermont. He was in Capt. Daniel Calisco's company
of Col. Bedel's regt. in 1776. In the fall of 1777, he served
17 days in Capt. David Stowell's company in Col. William Williams'
regt. From June 29th to July 5th, 1777, he was in Capt. Stephen
Shepardson's company. He seems to have been a fifer. He was called
"Lieutenant". He d. in Guilford, 19 August 1837. He
was m. three times: (1) To Rachel Wilkins (daughter of Paul) who
d. of quick consumption, 28 September 1787, aged 32 y., 8 mo.;
(2) To Lettice Barney, 10 January 1788. She was b. 4 January 1763,
of Captain John and Rebecca (Martin) Barney of Guilford, and d.
11 May 1831; (3) To Sarah (Babcock) Stedman, widow of Philemon.
She d. 1 August 1838, aged 82. There were 15 children, all of
whom grew up. At one time the combined age of those living was
above 1,200 years.

LURINDA SHEPARDSON, b. 17
August 1802; m. John Bucklin of Guilford. No children.

CLARK SHEPARDSON, b. 19
August 1804.

JOHN BARNEY SHEPARDSON,
b. 5 June 1808.

29. WILLIAM SHEPARDSON (Zephaniah-5,
Daniel-4, John-3, Daniel-2, Daniel-1) m. Grace Fitch and settled
in Guilford, Vermont, where he was called "Colonel".
He d. in Lansingburg, N.Y., 18 February 1804, of consumption,
and was buried in Guilford. His wife also died of consumption
1
February 1808, aged 48 years. He was in Capt. Stephen Shepardson's
company, Col. Williams' regt., in 1777. Four of the children d.
of consumption.

30. JOSEPH SHEPARDSON (Zephaniah-5,
Daniel-4, John-3, Daniel-2, Daniel-1) was a carpenter and worked
at that trade more than farming. He lived in Guilford until his
third child was b., then moved to Leyden, Mass., from which place
he moved to Coleraine, Mass., where he d. 2 November 1821. He
served in the Revolutionary war when he was not 17 years old.
He was called "Lieutenant". He m. (1) 25 October 1787,
Zurvier Parker, who was b. 15 September 1768, daughter of James
and Rebecca (Brown) Parker. She d. 7 October 1806, in Leyden,
Mass. He m. (2) 15 February 1807, Lucy Stedman, who was b. 13
September 1783, daughter of Philemon Stedman. He took a great
interest in family history and kept careful records of what he
could find for the benefit of the future family historian. Children:

JARED SHEPARDSON, b. 9 May
1788.

REBECCA SHEPARDSON, b. 3
May 1790.

ZURVIER SHEPARDSON, b. 9
March 1792.

JOSEPH SHEPARDSON, b. 22
February 1794.

LUCINDA SHEPARDSON, b. 12
December 1795.

WILLIAM HENRY SHEPARDSON,
b. 17 April 1797.

JAMES PARKER SHEPARDSON,
b. 7 May 1799.

HORATIO JEFFERSON SHEPARDSON,
b. 28 December 1800.

SALOME SHEPARDSON, b. 25
August 1803.

31. JARED SHEPARDSON (Zephaniah-5,
Daniel-4, John-3, Daniel-2, Daniel-1) m. in December, 1793, Ruth
Church, b. 29 September 1770, daughter of David and Damaris (-----)
Church. He d. in Halifax, Vt., 6 July 1810, of consumption. His
widow d. in Gerry, Chautauqua Co., N.Y., 9 August
1850. Extensive records of this line have been collected by John
Eaton Shepardson. Children:

32. NOAH SHEPARDSON (Daniel-5,
Daniel-4, John-3, Daniel-2, Daniel-1) removed from Attleboro,
Mass., to Guilford, Vt. His wife was Hannah. He was made fence
viewer 12 March 1792. With his cousins Joseph and Nathaniel he
was in an attack against the "Vermonters" at Brattleboro,
Vt., in 1784. He received 30 acres of land in Bainbridge, Chenango
county, N.Y., as part of that granted in 1786 to the sufferers
who opposed the government of Vermont by New York state. Known
children:

ENOCH SHEPARDSON, b. 22
October 1778.

NOAH SHEPARDSON, b. 1782,
d. 23 May 1867.

33. NATHANIEL SHEPARDSON (Isaac-5,
Nathaniel-4, Nathaniel-3, Daniel-2, Daniel-1) d. in Bridgewater
(now Brockton) Mass., in 1872. He was b. 5 October 1784. He m.
four times. He seems to have lived in Dedham and Wrentham before
settling in Bridgewater. He m. Sally Edison, daughter of Seth
Edison, 28 October 1808, Nancy Edson, 4 March 1815, the Edsons
being of Bridgewater, and Polly Reynolds of Stoughton in 1852.
The name of the fourth wife is unknown (1907) likewise name of
one of his children if the statement of a grandson that he had
twelve is true.

39. JOHN SHEPARDSON (Jonathan-5,
Jonathan-4, Nathaniel-3, Daniel-2, Daniel-1) purchased a farm
in the south part of Warwick in 1817. "Here he lived until
the day of his death, some time in 1833, and preached in the schoolhouse
in the south part of Warwick and in South Orange and in Erving's
Grant nearly every Sabbath, working faithfully in the service
of his Master to a good old age, when he was called to a better
world on high, there to receive his reward."--History of
Warwick, p. 166. One record says that he m. Abigail Hawes. Another
says int. pub. with Abigail Lawrence of New Salem, 27 November
1825. No children, but he adopted a nephew, son of Moses Kenney
of Richmond, N.H., who was b. in 1797 and took the Shepardson
name. Elder John Shepardson was executor of his father's estate.
He was a Baptist minister. He had a poetic temperament and wrote
some verse which is preserved in pamphlet form, as well as in
the History of Warwick. Adopted child:

MOSES KENNEY SHEPARDSON,
b. 1797.

40. DANIEL SHEPARDSON (Jonathan-5,
Jonathan-4, Nathaniel-3, Daniel-2, Daniel-1) lived in Royalston,
Mass. Farmer. Married, 9 September 1801, Prudence, daughter of
David and Elizabeth (-----) Cook of Stratton, Vt. She died 24
June 1858, aged 78. He died 5 May 1856. Records of his descendants
are practically complete. Children:

41. DANIEL SHEPARDSON (Ancel-5,
John-4, Nathaniel-3, Daniel-2, Daniel-1) born in Middletown, Rutland
County, Vt. Millwright at Fairfax, Vt. Removed with his family
to Granville, Ohio, September, 1813, making the journey in a wagon
and forty days on the road. Served as superintendent of construction
on Ohio Canal, 1825-6; constituent member of Granville Baptist
Church, and deacon from its organization until his death, November,
1806. Member of Board of Trustees of Denison University 1831-1866,
and superintendent of construction of its first buildings. He
married, (1) 12 July 1807, Prudence, daughter of Daniel Morse
of Fairfax, Vt. She was born in Dublin, N.H., 19 September 1784,
and died in Granville, Ohio, 25 March 1835. (2) 26 November 1835,
Mrs. Mary (Devenney) Dilley, daughter of Cornelius Devenney. She
was born 11 April 1795, in Berkeley County, Va., and died in Granville,
Ohio, 5 June 1850. (3) 7 July 1852, Mrs. Pamelia Barlow, widow
of Rev. Julius Barlow of Fredonia, Ohio. Children, all by first
wife:

42. ASA SHEPARDSON (Ancel-5,
John-4, Nathaniel-3, Daniel-2, Daniel-1) lived in Delaware County,
Ohio, where he d. 14 August 1842. He was buried in Granville,
Ohio. Children:

SILAS SHEPARDSON; unm.,
d. 8 September 1834. (23.)

ASA MILTON SHEPARDSON, d.
16 February 1845. (28, 1, 7.)

CHARLOTTE SHEPARDSON, (?)
[Note of J. H. Shepardson, 1861.]

43. ANCEL SHEPARDSON (Ancel-5,
John-4, Nathaniel-3, Daniel-2, Daniel-1), was 12 years old when
he came with his father from Middletown, Vt. to Fairfax, Vt.,
where he spent the rest of his life. He taught school for awhile
and for many years taught singing school. "When a young man
he built a saw mill on a stream near by and for many years did
an extensive business in the manufacture of lumber. He also invented
a flax machine and did a successful business in making and dressing
that product. About 1836 he commenced wool-carding and cloth-finishing,
which business he continued until 1850 when a new mill was built
and machinery put in for the manufacture of woolen cloth and yarn.
He also erected a foundry and blacksmith shop. The locality took
on the name of Shepardson Hollow and became quite a noted place
of business. In 1857, he retired in favor of his youngest son.
He was one of the deacons in the Baptist church for half a century,
and in every sense was an honest, faithful, Christian man."--(History
of Franklin and Grand-(?) Country, 1891.) He m. Aurelia Story,
3 March 1816. She d. 21 March 1822. He m. (2) Lura Story, 14 July
1822. She was b. 6 May 1801, in Fairfax, and d. 4 October 1880.
He d. 21 March 1875. Children:

NOTE--I have a great many
records of families in the seventh, eighth and ninth generations.
If the missing links in earlier generations can be found it will
not be difficult to place most American Shepardsons in their proper
connections. Corrections, additions and suggestion will be welcomed.